One of the ringleaders and official speaker of the Islamic State Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has been liquidated in Syria’s Aleppo city

Abu Muhammed al-Adnani

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. One of the ringleaders and official speaker of the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia), Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has been liquidated in Syria’s Aleppo city as a result of an airstrike delivered by Russia’s Sukhoi Su-34 bomber, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"On August 30, 2016, Russia’s Su-34 bomber destroyed by an airstrike in the area of Ma'arat Umm Hawsh a large group of IS militants comprising up to 40 people. According to reports confirmed by several intelligence channels, field commander Abu Mukhammad al-Adnani, better known as "the official spokesperson" of the international terrorist group Islamic State, was among the liquidated terrorists," the report says.

"Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was considered the second person in IS after the organization’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and was known for his calls to stage terrorist attacks in countries of Western Europe and in the United States," the ministry said.

The Pentagon said on August 30 that al-Adnani was liquidated by an airstrike of the US-led international coalition in the area of Al Bab. The US Department of Defense also reported that they were still assessing the results of the airstrike.

"Today coalition forces conducted a precision strike near Al Bab, Syria, targeting Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani, one of ISIL's most senior leaders. We are still assessing the results of the strike, but Al-Adnani's removal from the battlefield would mark another significant blow to ISIL," the Pentagon said in a statement on its website.

"Al-Adnani has served as principal architect of ISIL's external operations and as ISIL's chief spokesman. He has coordinated the movement of ISIL fighters, directly encouraged lone-wolf attacks on civilians and members of the military and actively recruited new ISIL members," said the US Department of Defense. "The U.S. military will continue to prioritize and relentlessly target ISIL leaders and external plotters in order to defend our homeland, our allies and our partners, while we continue to gather momentum in destroying ISIL's parent tumor in Iraq and Syria and combat its metastases around the world," the statement says.

Earlier, Washington announced a reward of $5 million for information on the terrorist.